Deadly Victory for Real... and Unexpected Fall for Liverpool

Real Madrid nearly stumbled for the first time before Uruguayan substitute Federico Valverde snatched a last-gasp victory for the Spanish giants against their Greek hosts AEK Athens 3-2 in Matchday 4 of the new-look Champions League group stage, while English side Liverpool fell in Istanbul as they lost to Turkish club Fenerbahçe 3-2.

Real Madrid arrived in Athens on the back of six consecutive wins across all competitions, but that streak was nearly halted on Wednesday in the Greek capital had it not been for substitute Valverde, who raised manager José Mourinho’s side’s tally to a perfect 12 points.

The Spanish visitors started poorly, finding themselves behind from the 12th minute when Mauritania international Aboubakar Kouyaté, receiving the ball on the right side of the penalty area from former Real Madrid player Luka Jović, dribbled past Marc Cucurella before firing a powerful shot to the left of Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. Jović was close to scoring against the team he played for from 2019 to 2022, but Courtois was on hand this time to rescue the competition’s record 15-time winners (17 titles overall).

Real responded in the 32nd minute with a brilliant goal from Englishman Jude Bellingham. After receiving a cross from Cucurella near the edge of the penalty area, Bellingham chipped the ball over Italian goalkeeper Alberto Brignoli into the net.

Despite some second-half attempts, most notably from Real through Kylian Mbappé, whose fine shot narrowly missed the left post in the 62nd minute, the match remained deadlocked until the 75th minute, when AEK stunned the royal club by taking the lead through Stavros Peliadis, who finished a one-two with Kouyaté.

However, Mbappé quickly equalized with his 16th goal of the season in 15 appearances across all competitions, converting a cross from Dutchman Denzel Dumfries in the 78th minute. Shortly after, substitute Valverde unleashed a rocket from outside the box into the bottom left corner, securing Real’s fourth consecutive victory in stoppage time (90+2).

In Istanbul, Fenerbahçe produced a surprise victory, claiming their first win of the campaign by defeating Liverpool 3-2. The English visitors had taken the lead twice but ultimately failed to maintain their perfect record.

Liverpool reached the net after 26 minutes through a stunning volley from 19-year-old Trae Nyoni from the edge of the box. Fenerbahçe responded quickly with an English strike from Mason Greenwood, whose free-kick took a deflection off the defensive wall, making it difficult for Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson (29).

Liverpool were the more dangerous side at the start of the second half, but Fenerbahçe’s goalkeeper Ederson stood firm as a wall of resistance. The breakthrough finally came for the visitors when Swedish substitute Alexander Isak, who had replaced Munoz just three minutes earlier, headed home a cross from fellow substitute Dutchman Cody Gakpo (69).

But the Turkish response was swift. Following a corner, N’Golo Kanté’s pass into the penalty area was not properly intercepted by Gakpo, allowing the ball to loop toward the right post where Englishman Archie Brown tapped it into the net (73).

The stands erupted when Fenerbahçe snatched the lead with a header from Kosovan substitute Vedat Muriqi, following a cross from Brown (79). The goal marked Muriqi’s first-ever Champions League strike and secured Fenerbahçe’s first home win in the competition in their last six matches in the tournament.